THERE is much talk in the corridors of power around Liverpool these days about the word “legacy” – and about just what we will be left with after all the excitement of our European Capital of Culture year dies down.

Nobody who has gone out and experienced the rich and varied delights 2008 is providing can have much doubt by now that the year is on track to be the glowing success we all hoped it would be.

As we stand on the brink of another week in the international spotlight, with the Tall Ships returning to the Mersey, and the Open Golf championship at Royal Birkdale, it is hard not to feel excited and proud.

But the idea of 2008 was that it would make a lasting difference to the city region, rather than just providing us with one memorable year.

In terms of the city’s physical offer, this also appears to be working out, given the long-term benefits we can expect to reap from projects like Liverpool One, the Echo Arena and BT Convention Centre, and the exciting new waterfront Liverpool Museum.

Today we reveal a hugely encouraging piece of evidence of the serious commitment being made by city organisations to ensure that Liverpool continues to grow and prosper when 2008 is just a fond memory.

The Liverpool “Local Area Agreement” document submitted to Government by the city’s public bodies, setting out its targets for the next three years, represents a bold statement of the determination to continue to build on the firm foundations that have been established.

The target for hotel occupancy, to go up by 82,000 room nights by 2011, bringing an extra £50m to the regional economy, demonstrates that tourism will stay at the heart of the strategy.

But other ambitions, like the removal of over 4,000 children from poverty, an increase of 7,000 jobs in the city and a major reduction in mortality rates, are a clear demonstration of the wider social benefits the city’s regeneration is set to deliver.